Electro-optical system



Def 12, 1939. F. w. REYNOLDS ELECTRO-OPTICAL SYSTEM Filed May 29, 1937 y w M Rw. R mN m Y 7 NF. A /W F. J 3, WM G., H w S H W f, um, 7 W .La l W Q l A F m m um Lm 0A 0N .A

Patented Dec. 12, 1939 u alsazu ELECTRO-OPTICAL SYSTEM Frederick W. Reynolds, Ridgewood, N. J., assignor to Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated,

New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 29, 1937, Serial No. 145,441

7 Claims.

This invention relates to electro-optical devices and more speciiically to telephotography. It is an object of this invention to provide methods of and apparatus for obtaining pictures on receiving telephotographic equipment with a suitable structure for direct printing on metal.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel method of making a. variable density cross-line screen suitable for use in telephotography or photoengraving to produce structures suitable for .direct printing on metal.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a variable density cross-line screen which in part at least compensates for distortion inherent in certain of, or all, the various stages of the photographic and photoengraving processes.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a simple and controllablemethod for making variabledensity cross-line screens having the desired optical characteristics for use with pictures having diierent degrees of contrast, such as at, normal or contrasty.

'I'he invention which is explained vherein relates in certain of its aspects primarily to tele.

direct printing on metal. This variable density.

cross-line screen comprises a lm including a plurality of adjacent squares or other rectangles whose optical transmission is a maximum at the center of 'each rectangle and which decreases to a minimum at the sides. The optical transmission ,ior each rectangle is' made to vary line early Afrom the center tothe sides as is the case in the well-known' so-called variable density cross-line screen or it is made to vary in a non-linear manner in order to compensate for distortions introduced in the varioush steps of the process of transmitting and reproduction, or for the more pronounced of these distortions.

In accordance with the invention, such a screen may be made by mounting a light sensitive iilm on a support, exposing ea`ch elemental line or the iilm in turn through a light valve aperture of such shape that theexposure oi.' the lm varies in intensity from a minimum at the edges to a maximum at the center, removing the iilm,

l remounting the fllm on the support at right angles to its position on the iirst mounting, and re-exposing the nlm through the aperture. After this iilm is developed, fixed and dried in accordance with well-known photographic technique, it is placedin contact with the emulsion of the receiving iilm mounted on a drum at the telephotographic receiving station. Light vary- 5 ing in accordance with the light-tone values of the successively scanned elemental areas of the object at the telephotographic transmitting station passes through the variable density screen in such a manner that different size printing 10 dots or areas lare formed-on the receiving emulsion so that the received picture is structured suitable for direct printing on metal.

The aperture used in making the variable density screen is preferably so shaped that it introduces desired correction for distortion, as mentioned above.

The invention will be more readily understood by referring to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing 20 forming a part thereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic showing, partly in cross-section, of apparatus for making a variable density cross-line screen in accordance with this y invention; 25

Figs. 2 and 3 are showings of structures which may be alternately used in Fig. 1 to determine the shape o! the aperture;

Fig. 4 shows a portion of the vscreen which may be made by the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 30 after one step of the process, shading lines being drawn to represent theexposure;

Fig. 5 shows the screen of Fig. 4 after the second. step of the process, shading lines being drawn to represent the exposure;

Fig. 6 shows a telephotographic receiving ap' paratus with a variable density cross-line screen in place;

Fig. 7 is a graphical representation included tov aid in the explanation of the operation of 40 the invention; and- Fig. 8 is a graphical representation included to aid in the explanation of the method of making a cross-line screen to compensate for distortion.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, Fig. 1 shows apparatus for making a variabledensity cross-line screen. A variable density cross-line screen as the term is used in this specification may be dened as a iilm or plate 50 of material having a photographic emulsion thereon which has been exposed, developed, xed, and dried, the pattern onfthe emulsion consisting of a multiplicity of adjacent squares or other rectangles, the optical transparency or transmission of each rectangle varying from a minimum (or a maximum) at the center of each rectangle or square to a maximum (or a minimum) at the edge of each square or rectangle. The variation in optical transmission from the center to the edge of each square or other rectangle may be either linear or non-linear depending on various factors which will be discussed more fully below. Such a screen may be used in telephotography or photoengraving to produce a picture having a suitable structure for direct printing on metal. The appearance o! the printing structure formed by this type of screen is similar to that of half-tone negatives made with the commonly used Levy cross-line screen. The

darker portions or shadows of the original picture are recorded in the negative made through the variable density screen as small dots by the light transmitted through only the most transparent parts of the screen. As progress is made towards the parts of the negative corresponding to the lighter portions of the picture, the

k dots increase in size and pass through the condition of a uniform checkerboard appearance of 8l alternate dots and clear spaces to the condition representing the extreme highlights of the picture when only the parts of the negative under the centers of the screen-squares having minimum transmission are unexposed. Following the 80 usual photoengraving technique, the screen is oriented with` respect to the vertical dimension of the picture. so that the dots are aligned in rows at 45 degrees-to this direction. When this screen is used in connection with the telepho- Il tographic or picture transmission receiving system, each elemental square or other rectangle is subjected in turn to light from a suitable light source. the intensity of this light being modulated in accordance with the variations in light tone values of the variously scanned elemental areas of the object at the transmitting station.

'rhus c. picture is obtained which is made up` of a plurality of diiIerent sized dots or areas.

The system shown in Fig. 1 comprises a light source such as an incandescent lamp Il, a condensing lens system represented generally by the lens/II, a light valve'IZ having an aperture I3 substantially in the plane of the light valve ribbon 20, an objective lens system Il and a drum .50 I5 on which is mounted a lm Il having a light the base and hei ht of this trian ar rture g sul ape twice in paths at right angles to each other, the

Unlike a light valve used in telephotographic receiving devices in which the ribbon is caused to move in front of an aperture in accordance with the intensity of signals flowing through the ribbon itself, the ribbon 20 in this invention is held biased to a stationary position by means of a steady biasing current flowing through it. 'I'he coil 2| supplies the magnetizing field for the light valve. With the exception of this and the further dierence that the pair of plates I8, I8 are differently shaped to determine the shape of aperture I3, `theliglit valve I! may be, i'or example,

essentially like that described in Patent 2,065,907 to G. E. Perreault, issued December 29, 1936, which is designed primarily for use at a telephotograph receiving station.

By means of the objective lens system I4 an 5 image of the aperture I3 is focussed on the drum I5 carrying the light sensitive film I 6. All light except that passing through the aperture I3 is kept from the light sensitive lm I6 by means of the hood 22 surrounding the drum I5. A portion l0 of this hood is removable to facilitate mounting, Y changing and removing the lm I6.

The drum l5 is arranged to be rotated about its axis 23 at a constant speed. This speed and the intensity f light used are correlated with the 15 characteristics of the emulsion on illm I6 so that the desired transmission properties of the screen are obtained. Means (not shown) are provided for moving the drum I5 and hence the nlm I. in a direction along the axis 23 of the drum 20 I5 by an amount equal to one elementary line per revolution of the drum I5. Instead or movement of the drum I5 axially, light beam producing equipment can be adapted to move in this direction with the drum is remaining stationary, 25

` so far as movement along its axis 23 is concerned.

' ic density of these lines varying from-a minimum against distance in line widths from a reference 45 Point.

After the entire nlm' I6 has been exposed. elemental area by elemental area, to the light coming through the aperture I3, the nlm is taken oil? the drum Il in a dark room, turned degrees 50 and remounted on the drum I5. The process oi exposing the elemental areas in turn of the iilm I6 is then repeated to expose traces on the nlm at right les to those produced by the precedingopera on. Fig. 5 represents the exposed ele- 55 mental squares or other rectangles. The varied spacing of the parallel lines is indicative of the degree of exposure, which is greatest at the center of each area and which progressively and proportionally (in the case where the aperture Il is 50 used) vdecreases to the edges.

After the film It has had its surface exposed nlm is taken from the drum I5, develod. ilxed, washed and dried in accordance with well-known 55 photograph technique to produce a variable density cro-line screen which may be used in connection with telephotographic receiving equipment described. below. f

Fig. 6 shows diagrammatically a telephoto- 70 graphic receiving system in which the variable density cross-line screen made as related above is used. If desired, the apparatus shown in Fig. 6 may be the same as that used to make the variable density arose-line screen shown in Pig. 1 with certain changes. In the device shown in Fig. 6, the light valve aperture is not a triangle as shown in Fig. 2 but is instead a square or a parallellogram as disclosed in the above-mentioned Perreault 5 patent and the light valve ribbon 20 is not biased in a fixed position but instead is varied in position in accordance with signals through it which are proportional to the tone values of the successively scanned elemental areas of the object at the transmission station of the telephotographic system.

The cross-line screen I6 is mounted on the drum I5 outside of and preferably in contact with the emulsion of a receiving lm 30, the screen emulsion being adjacent that of the film 30. The variations in signals passing through the light valve ribbon vary the size of the aperture 3| in the light valve which in turn vary the amount of light from. the source I0 which reaches the 20 film 30 and the screen I6. After the lm 30 is developed, fixed, washed and dried, it is suitable for direct printing on metal as it is properly structured for this purpose.

While there has been described above with reference to Fig. 6, a use for the variable density cross-line screen in a telephotographic receiving system, this screen may also be used in photoengraving. In this application of the variablev density screen it is placed in contact, emulsion t0 3o emulsion, with the negative material rather than spaced therefrom a prescribed distance as is the case when using the ordinary photoengraving screen. 'This permits the use of simple and coml mon types of photographic equipment rather than the highy specialized and expensive photoengraving camera and its accessories. The size of stops used in the camera, if a camera is employed in order to change the size of the picture, has no direct effect upon the size of the dots formed.

40 'I'he customary u-se of multiple stops and expos-ures which complicate and greatly increase the time for exposing the half-tone negative is thus eliminated. Flexibility in control of the printing structure is obtained in a more direct and sim- 45 ple manner by using the particular grade of variable density screen designed'for the contrast 'or density scaleeof the picture being used. 'I'he variables encountered are only those familiar to ordinary photography, that is, exposure and de- 50 ve'opment.

Considering now the variable density screen I6, -although the exposure gradient dE a;

across each elemental area is essentially constant d'ue tothe simple shape of the triangular aperture I3 which was used, the transmission gradient co dT I a; would obviously not be constant due to the nonlinear characteristic of the photographic emulsion. If the latter were linear, and the relationships in all other steps in the process of using thev screen to reproduce a structured picture includingprinting were linear,then the triangular shape of aperture shown in Fig. 2 would 70 be ideal. However, the optimum shape of the aperture would be, in practice, determined by study and measurement of the characteristics of all of these steps involved in photomechanical reproduction. It thus becomeso possible to shape 75 the aperture to give Va transmission gradient across the unit screen area to produce the most accuratetone reproduction, This gives rise to the desirability of preparing screens by this method having transmission gradient and latitude most suitable for each general class of pic- 5 ture, that is, flat, normal and contrasty. The obvious advantage of having a variety of such screens, as, for example, six to ten, is that their use thus becomes analogous to the use of contact printing papers of different contrast in ordinary 10 photography. At the present time the use of the lordinary cross-line screen is a highly specialized art requiring the use of multiple stops and exposures in order to obtain the most suitable printing plate structure. This technique may be 15 quite widely different for different pictures.

In Fig. 3 there is disclosed an aperture 32 which is of diierent shape from the aperture I3 shown in Fig. 2 and which may be substituted therefor. 'Ihe aperture 32 is intended to illus- 20 trate how an aperture may be given a desired shape to produce a linear transmission gradient .by properly shaping the pairs of plates 33, 33.

The method of making the aperture shown in this ligure will be explained more fully below. 25 with reference to Fig.8. The screen obtained with this aperture comprises a multiplicity of tiny squares or other rectangles which when developed vary in density from essentially zero at the edges to a maximum density at the center, differing from the screen made in Figs. 1 and 2 in'that the change from minimum to maximum transmis` sion is not linear. The curved boundaries of the aperture 32 are` merely representative as these curves may be of any desired shape, depending 35 upon the transmission gradient desired in the finished screen. ,i

With respect' to the method of designing the shape of the aperture 32, the desired characteris-l tic of the variable density screen would ordinarily 40 b e a function of a number of factors which are involved in the over-all process of using such a screen to obtain structural half-tone pictures represented by black and white areas. For example, the contrast ratio in the printed picture 4,5 which can be used in practice is limited among other things by the physical characteristics of the paper and ink employed. This ratio is a function of the size of the smallest highlight and shadow dots whichcan ybe used and is limited by those factors. Aside from these mechanical factors of actual reproduction, each of the steps, such as exposure and etching of the metalplate and the preparation of mats and of stereotypes, alter to a greater or less extent the relationship between the reiiection or brightness values of the printed pictureV relative to the original. Knowing the l separate or the over-al1 combined characteristics voi? these steps, it is possible to design the shape l of the aperture 32 used in exposing the variable 60 density screen.` to compensate for these factors.

For simplicity in illustration; let it be con- Sidered that the shape of the aperture is designed -to compensate for the emulsion characteristicr shown in the second quadrant of Fig.,8. The 65 maximum transmissibility of a screen made on this emulsion is about .85 per cent, and it canV be made to approach a minimum value of less than 1/2 of 1 percent. It is assumed that a linear transmission characteristic of the screen is desired as shown, in quadrant I of Fig. 8. X is the distance measured from the edge -of` ascanning line and Dis l the scanning line pitch. Using the well-known tone Y reproduction diagram method, the characteristic shown in quadrant IV 'I5 is found in which the height of the aperture is plotted versus to give the linear. condition assumed in quadran I. 'I'his shaded area is taken to represent the shape of half of the scanning aperture 32, which is symmetrical about the line A-B. While there has been shown and described with reference to Fig. 8, a method of determining the shape 0f an aperture tov compensate for the distortion.

introduced by. the emulsion characteristic of the cross-line screen, it is preferable to compensate for other distortions resulting in the photographic, mechanical and electrical processes as well, although it is to be understood that correction for any one or a group of distortions may be omitted if desired. After the over-all characteristic (or the characteristic the non-linearity of which it is desired to compensate) is obtained and plotted in quadrant II of Fig. 8. the corresponding shape of one-half of the aperture 33 is easily formed in quadrant IV.

As suggested above; the preferred method of using the invention is to provide a number of screens having different variations in density and in any given case to select the screen which most nearly fulfills the requirements. With one set of shaped aperture plates, several variable density cross-line screens of varying correcting properties can be formed by changing the bias of the light valve. As this also changes the width of the aperture, it is necessary to adjust the optical system I4 so that the width of a scanning line is the same in all cases. Such a set of screens meets a variety'of requirements and similar sets may be made with apertures differently shaped.

What is claimed is:

1. The method "of preparing a variable density screen 'for photomechanical -reproduction purposes comprising the steps of exposing a, photographic film in adjacent parallel' elemental strips element by element lengthwise of each strip and the different strips in succession so that the exposure is the same throughoutthe length of each strip but'varies transversely of the strip. and similarly exposing the nlm in adjacent parallel elemental strips extending in a direction transverse to the first mentioned strips.

i ing such that the exposure of the film transversely of the strip varies from a low value to a. high value from the edges of each elemental strip to lthe center thereof, and similarly exposing the nlm a, second time to produce similar elemental 'traces perpendicular to the first-mentioned elemental strips. l

3. The method of preparing a variable density screen for photomechanical reproduction purposes comprising the steps of exposing a light sensitive film in .adjacent parallel elemental strips in' succession, the intensity of exposure of each ner, and subsequently similarly exposing the nlm in adjacent parallel elemental strips in succession vextending in a direction transverse to the first mentioned strips.

4. The method of preparing a variable density cross-line screen for photo-mechanical reproduction purposes comprising the steps of impinging a beamof light upon a light sensitive lm, scanning said film with said beam along adjacent parallel elemental strips of said film, said beam at said film having a cross-sectional area of greater dimension in the direction parallel to the edges of the strips in one portion thereof than in another, and similarly scanning the nlm in similar adjacent parallel elemental strips extending in a direction transverse to the first-mentioned strips.

5. The'method of preparing a variable density cross-line screen for photo-mechanical reproduction purposes comprising the steps of impinging a beam of light upon a photographic nlm, scanning said film with said beam along adjacent parallel elemental strips of said illm, the cross-sectional 'area of said beam at said nim being symmetrical with respect to the center line of a strip and the dimension of each half of said cross-sectional area with respect to said line'being relatively great at one extremity of said half area compared with that at the other extremity thereof and continuously varying between said extremities, and similarly scanning the film in similar adjacent parallel elemental strips extending in a direction transverse to the first-mentioned strips.

6. The method of preparing a variable density cross-line screen for photo-mechanical reproduction purposes comprising the steps of impinging a beam of light upon a photographic film, scanning said lm with said beam along adjacent parallel elemental strips of said nlm, the cross-sectional area of said beam at said nlm being symmetrical with respect to the center line of a strip and the dimension of each half of said cross-sectional area with respect to said line being relatively great at one extremityof said half area compared with that at the other extremity thereof and continuously varying between said extremities in a non-linear manner, and similarly scanning the nlm in similar adjacent parallel elemental strips extending in a direction transverse to the firstmentioned strips.

'1. The method of preparing a variable density cross-line screen for photo-mechanical reproduction pm'poses comprising the steps of impinging a beam of light upon a photographic nlm, scanning said iilm with said beam along adjacent parallel elemental strips of -said nlm, the crosssectional area of I said beam at said film being symmetrical with respect to the center line of a strip and the dimension of each half of ,said cross-sectional area with respect to said'line being relatively great at one extremity of said half area compared with that at the other extremity thereof and continuously varying between said extremities from said lesser value to said greater value at an increasing rateof the nature o! that of the light responseV characteristic of photographic emulsion, and similarly scanning the illm in similar adjacent parallel elemental strips extending in a direction transverse to the first-mentioned strips.

. FREDERICKW. REYNOLDS. 

